


The Future Is Female

by gusyoubeautifultropicalfish



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Gwen (Comics), Spider-Man (Comicverse), Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Drabble, F/M, International Women's Day, One-Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-09
Updated: 2020-03-09
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:54:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23073541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gusyoubeautifultropicalfish/pseuds/gusyoubeautifultropicalfish
Summary: In honor of International Women's Day, Michelle thinks back on the women who inspired her and continue to inspire her each and every day.
Relationships: Michelle Jones/Peter Parker
Comments: 2
Kudos: 21





	The Future Is Female

**Author's Note:**

> All rights to MARVEL.
> 
> (This takes place in the universe/story I have created in my other fic _Spider-Man: Home Sweet Home_ , but you don't need to read that fic to understand what's happening here. It's just a one-shot that exists in that universe/story.

Michelle had spent a lot of her life on her own. 

She told herself it was easier that way. If she didn’t get close to someone, they wouldn’t leave her behind. By throwing up walls on all sides, she was able to build herself into the strong-willed, open-minded, badass that she was today. Did she get lonely from time to time? Sure, but she buried herself in books and found herself less alone when she read about those she admired.

MJ learned about Maya Angelou and how she became one of the loudest voices in the civil rights movement despite spending a large chunk of her life a virtual mute because of the horrors of her past. Michelle loved reading _I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings_ and finds herself dusting off the copy she bought for $1.37 at a used book store when she feels particularly alone and vulnerable. She’d faced her own discrimination and prejudice in her life and it was Maya Angelou who taught her about the strength literature has.

It was Sojourner Truth who taught her that just because you were born into a certain situation, you didn’t have to stay there. She lived a hard life and knew, even as a slave with no formal education, that she deserved to be treated better and found a way to do just that. It was her _Ain’t I a Woman?_ speech that Michelle recited for World Poetry Day in the 4th grade. It surprised most of the other students and teachers, but her science teacher at the time had smiled at her and given her a fist bump as she passed back him to go back to her desk, telling her after class that he was proud of her and couldn’t wait to see what she did next year (spoiler alert: it was Virginia Woolf’s _A Room of One’s Own_ ).

Rosa Parks was another hero of Michelle’s. In a time when woman, particularly colored women, were supposed to stay silent or say “Yes sir”, she said no and refused to budge. It was from Rosa Parks that Michelle learned the power of standing your ground and not staying silent when injustice is occurring. It was for Rosa Parks that Michelle first made a sign and stood outside in the cold New York air one January when she was 13, holding a sign that read “My Body, My Choice.”

Of course Michelle has to acknowledge Mary Wollstonecraft, who championed both education and the liberation of women in a time 150 years before women had the right to vote. Her book, _A Vindication of the Rights of Woman_ is hailed as the foundational texts on which modern feminism is built. This is why Michelle used her book for a book report in 5th grade. She got an A in case you were curious. Her book was MJ’s first taste of what feminism is and spurred her to go to her local library and get every book on it she could find. It’s to Mary Wollstonecraft that Michelle attributes her bluntness to what she believes to be true; that all genders should be equal.

With Michelle’s own obsession with art, it’s impossible to not mention Frida Kahlo. She first saw one of her works on a field trip in middle school to MoMA and was instantly captivated. She remembers staring at the vivid colors and the honesty Frida portrayed in every single stroke of her brush. Michelle spent their whole trip looking at her art and even inspired her to draw a self-portrait of herself (a tradition she completes every year on Frida’s birthday). Michelle had never thought of a career in art, and, if she’s being honest, still isn’t sure about it. But looking at what Frida accomplished, Michelle’s knows she could do it too, if that’s what she decided.

If Michelle was being honest, she had to admit to a secret crush on Peggy Carter (but come on, _look at her_ ). In school they covered the original formation of the SSR, their work during the war (in Michelle’s honest opinion they focused _way_ too much on Captain America, Peggy deserved just as much credit), their activity immediately following the war, and then the formation of S.H.I.E.L.D. Despite S.H.I.E.L.D.’s recent fuck up of having Hydra growing in their ranks for years, Peggy was still in charge of a covert government intelligence agency back during a time when women were still being relegated to the role of housewife. (If she’s being honest, Michelle thinks that the reason Hydra waited so long to rise from the ashes (or whatever the fuck it was that they did) was because Peggy was at the helm. Even _fucking Nazis_ knew not to mess with Peggy Carter.) Peggy taught Michelle that social conventions mean nothing and you can do everything you set your mind to. Plus she’s a badass and Michelle _definitely_ loves the woman.

Michelle has a weird relationship with the next one on her list. Virginia “Pepper” Potts had always been an idol of hers. She had started out in the financial department of Stark Industries and then became Tony Stark’s assistant (who are we kidding, she was running that company long before she became CEO). She had worked hard and became the best CEO Stark Industries had ever seen (Michelle stands by that statement). The weird part of this is that Michelle has met one of her icons, and calls her Pepper. Who knew that dating a self-righteous nerd would allow her to meet a hero of hers? She even had her personal cell number. _What even is her life?_ Michelle didn’t know what she wanted to do, but if she fights as hard as Pepper has and loves just as wholly, she’ll be just fine.

Michelle has also come to admire May Parker in her own special way. She’d never really had a strong female role model in her life (which is why she buried herself in books and the lives of the women she read about), so she really didn’t see that kind of strength first hand. That is, until she met Peter’s aunt. Granted, she hasn’t spent a lot of time with her, but in the little time she has, she’s seen how much she cares for her nephew. Here is a woman who married the love of her life and lost an extension of her family in one fell swoop. Instead of letting it slow her down, her and Ben took Peter in as their own. They didn’t have to, but they did. Then she lost her husband and Peter lost another family member. It didn’t matter that they weren’t related by blood, May stuck by Peter and together they found family in each other. May’s strength wasn’t as world changing as the others on Michelle’s list of women she admires, but she is everything in Peter’s world and that is enough. 

Gwen also played a role in Michelle’s life that she never expected. She admired her friend because despite everything that happened in Gwen’s life, she’s still one of the kindest people Michelle has ever met. The Blip kind of fucked up everyone’s life, but Michelle thinks she got out lucky. It was like blinking for her. One second she was here, the next she was 5 years in the future. Sure it was adjustment and it was hard, but she didn’t have to live five years without those she cared about. Gwen was orphaned in the snap and had to make a life for herself, which she did. And she welcomed Michelle into her family in a way that she’d never had before. Gwen was like an older sister to her and Michelle didn’t want to think of the way her life would be without Gwen in it.

Despite everything that had happened in Michelle’s life, she chooses to be who she is because of the women she read about as a child and those she has met later on in her life. She has carved out her own path in the world for herself, but she’d be wrong to deny that without these women she’d be living a different life. So to honor all of those women, she’ll continue to call out sexism in her everyday life. She’ll stand outside Planned Parenthood to escort and support the women who are looking for health care. She’ll go to protests and refuse to let the racism, classism, sexism, and other –ism of the past stand in the present. She’ll keep reading about women who are doing amazing things in their world. Like Malala Yousafzai. Like Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Like all the women (and men) involved in the MeToo movement. Like Greta Thunberg. Like Ms. Marvel over in Jersey City. Like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Like Princess Shuri. Like every other woman out there fighting for what they believe in no matter the cost. 

And as she sits across from Gwen and a few of her band-mates at a coffee shop, laughing about how Gwen had tripped just last week and crashed into her drum set, meaning she had to replace the head of her base drum (she kicked it in), Michelle couldn’t help but smile. 12-year old Michelle would have never imagined she’d have so many friends. If she was being honest, 16-year old Michelle couldn’t believe it either. She took another sip of her tea with a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth as Gwen’s face grew more red as she tried to defend herself. Glory had her head on the table as she coughed from laughing too hard. Mary was arguing with Gwen and threatening to bring out her video evidence. Felicia was watching the encounter with a fond smile, all the while shaking her head at how ridiculous they were being. Their group was pulling strange glances from the other patrons in the small coffee shop and normally MJ would be horrified and shrink into herself, but now? She didn’t mind one bit.

Michelle didn’t know what the future would bring. She still had a lot of years left to live, but one thing she knew was certain.

The future is female. 

And Michelle couldn’t wait to see what comes next.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy International Women's Day!
> 
> In honor of this holiday, here is a short one-shot with our favorite raging feminist. I thought Michelle was a great way to honor a lot of women who have made a difference in our world (and in hers). 
> 
> If you have any one-shot requests, please let me know! I am still working on the next chapter of _Spider-Man: Home Sweet Home_. I'm hoping to get that up within the next week or two, so hopefully this will help hold y'all over until then! Let me know what you think! Thanks babes!


End file.
